Recently in a sermon at Abundant Life Church, I made the statement that the enemy has no place in our lives except by invitation. A sentiment was expressed that requested further elucidation on the subject. This is certainly something that gets all our attention as we endeavor to engage in this Christian life and maintain a consistent victory in doing so. While I don’t like to give a lot of space to the topic of our enemy, since the Bible says we should be watchful of him, I thought in this month’s edition of The Kernels of Truth we would spend some time on this topic.
I am of the opinion that sometimes we spend entirely too much time worried about and thinking about the devil and his activities. I know some Christians that just “shake in their boots” when they think about the enemy and his attempting to take us down. I want to communicate to us in this letter there is no reason for us to fear the influence or attacks of Satan and we certainly should not be given to fear of him and his antics.
We should first get the top button in the top hole and mention the fact that Jesus gained total victory over the devil and his minions on the cross. The letter to the Colossians tells us that
“God made (you) alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.”
The Revelation reveals Satan as the accuser of the brethren. Regardless of his position, authority, or the lack thereof, he is constantly bringing accusation before God’s throne (see Job 1) and within hearing distance of the followers of Jesus Christ. It is important to really notice the above verse from Colossians. Jesus forgave us our trespasses and in so doing, He canceled the record of debt that we owed to God the Father, with its legal demands that stood against us. Notice He didn’t just cancel your debt, but He canceled any record of said debt. So, if our debt has been forgiven and also any record has been canceled, on what basis could the enemy truly accuse us? I heard you! None! There is no record because Jesus satisfied the debt and in the cosmic court of heaven with the Father sitting on the judgment seat, your ledger was stamped “Paid in full!”
Paul goes further in verse 15 of chapter 2 to describe the victory Christ gained on the cross and through His victorious resurrection from the dead. In some versions, it says that He disarmed the devil. What He really did was to divest him of any power he might have had due to the abdication of the first Adam and bring him (Satan) into the age of the Last Adam and His Supreme victory. So, on the cross the kingdom of darkness was stripped of its power to accuse Christians before God. If you have no basis upon which to accuse the brethren, then you are rendered powerless.
The Scripture says that He made a public and open display of the devil and his demons. He put them to a public display of shame. The cross of Jesus publicly revealed the failure of the demonic powers to thwart God’s plan of salvation through Christ. He did this by triumphing over the enemy because of His victory won on the cross. The imagery here is that of a Roman military procession where the conquering army would strip the enemy and lead them in a parade, of sorts, as trophies of their victory. In the same manner, Christ stripped the enemy of any power they might have had, making them a public and open
display of shame, and leading a victory processional of Satan and all his imps before the all the host of heaven. I am sure this was welcomed by shouts of victory and joy by all. This was a total and undeniable victory by our Lord on behalf of the entire human race. Isn’t it great to be a redeemed human?
Now, in light of the settled and final victory Jesus won over the enemy of our souls, how is it that he still finds a way into our lives and influences us? By deception and lies. That is how he gained a victory in the Garden of Eden, after all. Paul wrote in Ephesians that we should give the devil no opportunity in our lives. This is how we invite Satan into our world when we
forget the victory of Jesus on the cross and succumb to the “wiles” of the enemy.
Yes, Peter writes that we should be watchful of him because he roams around like a roaring lion, searching someone whom he may devour. I submit to you he is LIKE a roaring lion, because he was defanged at the cross by the Son of God. What the not-so-roaring lion is roaming around looking for is a crack in our proverbial wall. Imagine your life in God as a fortress, with secure walls and gates to keep the enemy out. What happens if there develops some crack or opening in the wall? The enemy who has been patrolling our walls smells an opportunity for entry and gravitates to the opening swiftly.
What does all this mean to us? Paul said when we present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? So therefore, Paul writes, we should not present our members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness. We all have a propensity to succumb to the temptation of the fleshly nature we have been saved from. Almost the entire 7th chapter of Romans describes the apostle Paul’s struggles with his own flesh. He says “those things I do not want to do, that is exactly what I wind up doing. And those things that I really desire to do, somehow I do just the opposite.” Thus his cry for someone to deliver him from this “body of death.”
He further writes in his letter to the Romans that we should,
“put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
How do we invite the influence of the enemy into our lives? By making some provision for the gratifying of the desires of the flesh. That is how we allow a crack in our wall of defense and so allow a “place” or “opportunity” for him to
agitate and influence us. Do not fret, because we are all in this body of flesh deal with constant temptations to satisfy the flesh. When we stumble and give ourselves over to the flesh, there is forgiveness (1 John 1:9) and deliverance from the grip or influence of the devil. Remember the words of Jesus as He was instructing the disciples on how and what to pray, “Deliver us from the evil one.”
What should we do? First of all, we should rest in the promise of God that “by God’s power we are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” We are being preserved for a salvation (beyond being born again) that is to come at the end of the age. We can confidently proclaim with the apostle Paul,
“I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”
And the words of Jesus ring true in John chapter 10.
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Regardless of the attempts at deception by our enemy, God is the one guarding us and keeping us secure in His hands.
This is why Peter could admonish us to resist him, remaining firm in our faith in Jesus Christ. If we could not find the wherewithal to resist the devil, the Holy Spirit would have never inspired the apostle Peter to write that down.
You have what you need to resist the devil. James the brother of our Lord wrote that we must submit ourselves to the Father, resist the devil and then he would flee from us. Remember the first part of that instruction – submit yourself to God.
One thing we must address here is that sometimes God allows the enemy to buffet us and irritate us, so that we can have opportunity to count it all joy when different kinds of trials come our way. He cannot have us, but he can be God’s tool as an instrument of growth. In 2 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul describes an experience where he was “given” a messenger of Satan to torment or buffet him. One does not need much revelation to realize it was God who “sent” or allowed the enemy to be the one who caused some type of a blow to Paul. And yet, when Paul asked for this thorn in his flesh to be removed, God replied,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
God didn’t tell him that His grace would remove the messenger, but rather, Paul would have the grace to go through this experience and come out on the other side with a little more dross missing from his life. Don’t always mistake bad circumstances or difficulties for the unhindered attack of the devil. Sometimes, God is behind it. Regardless of the nature of the buffeting by the enemy, it is God who holds you in the grip of His great hand and will have sanctified and further shaped you through the irritation of our enemy.
Even Jesus was compelled to go out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (exact quote). After several attempts by Satan to get Jesus to falter and succumb to His humanity (Jesus gave up His divine privileges, but He did not forfeit His deity), the Bible says when the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left Him until the next opportunity came. He would ultimately come out victorious that time as well.
I guess what I am trying to communicate is that suffering of some sort is a natural and normal part of our Christian life and God often uses our enemy as the agent of stretching and changing.
To finish the remainder of the verse in 1 Peter 5 from earlier, note this passage as a promise from God to you.
“Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Note this passage occurs immediately after the verse that says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.”
I would like to conclude with a statement by Brother Charles Simpson in the Spirit Filled Life Bible, of which he was a contributor. Let this be an encouragement to you.
“This passage (Revelation 12:11) portrays Satan as cast down to the Earth, confronting and accusing the citizens of the kingdom of God. The primary weapon of the people of God against Satan is the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Christ, the Lamb, causes the people of God to prevail because it answers all of the Enemy’s accusations. Satan controls and defeats humankind through guilt and accusations. He is a “blackmailer.” However, the saints know that the blood has satisfied all of the charges against them, joined them to God, and provided them with every necessary provision to defeat Satan. The blood has established an unassailable bond with a sovereign God that prevents Satan from separating the embattled Christian from God’s eternal and complete resources. God has declared us righteous and victorious through the blood of Christ.”
Charles V. Simpson